This is the third part of our grand tour of all the Flesh and Blood classes. Like playing in any fighting game, it's essential to know each Hero's plans and strengths, to play them effectively. The Guardian Class is there for everyone who wants to Tank.
Unlike the Warrior's consistent plan and the Brute's big numbers, Guardian looks to take defence very seriously in their gameplan. With equipment that blocks efficiently as well as being rewarded for blocking, they send back truly crushing attacks.
Guardian Class
Guardian is one of the four original classes from the first expansion of Flesh and Blood TCG. This expansion puts up the spread of what most card gamers coming from other genres would be able to best latch onto. If Ninja is Aggro, Brute is Combo Midrange, and Warrior is Value Midrange, then Guardian is Control.
In their aesthetic, Guardian is the classic RPG tank. With heavy armour and big shields, they stand at the gate, handle a lot of damage, then swing back hard enough to punish you for thinking you could do otherwise.
This defensive gameplay often lends itself to the "fatigue" style of gameplay. If the Guardian player is able to defend efficiently, use fewer cards than their attacking opponent, and stabilise their life total, they can run their opponent out of cards in deck, and therefore an inability to win the game.
Guardian is a very polarising class. Those that enjoy the methodical play style love the class, while those that want to do their own thing and not feel pressured by a big disruptive attack every turn often dislike playing against Guardian.
Hero Spotlight
There are currently 5 Guardian Heroes legal in Classic Constructed. There are also two Guardians that have hit Living Legend.
Bravo, Star of the Show looked to use all of the elemental cards, to send the same large Guardian attack over again, then follow it up with an attack with Winter's Wail.
Oldhim, Grandfather of Eternity was the epitome of a grindy deck. With games often going into 3rd or 4th cycle, players would have to deal with the earth blocks, ice disruption, and Oaken Old to limit his opponent's options.
Bravo
The first Guardian, Bravo, Showstopper brings us a gameplan that lends itself usually to blocking and intense Fatigue, but also gives the options to play Count Your Blessings.
Being the first Guardian, he set the trend for what we can expect for the Guardian Class. His large attacks all having the Crush keyword incentivises you to be able to activate his passive ability. Paying to give your next big attack Dominate is a strong way to ensure that the on hit, or on Crush ability triggers.
As such, Bravo set the trend of Guardian attacks being heavily costed for high power, and disruption.
Bravo's specialisations all enable this game plan, either by letting you search for the right Crush effect for the right opponent with Show Time! or by clearing away their hand with Crippling Crush. His newest specialisation from Dusk till Dawn, Star Struck is part of "Starvo's" success in Living Legend, being able to send this for a great deal of damage stops cards that attack for less than 3 or 4 base power, thanks to it hitting for a lot with Dominate.
As other Guardians, some with Talents, have emerged from other sets, the overall meta share of Bravo has waned somewhat over the past year or so.
Betsy
Before the Heavy Hitters expansion, there was only Bravo in the Guardian Class. Oldhim had long been Living Legend at this point. Those who enjoyed tough, grindy games were set to feast when this set was released, and the two new Guardians deeply shook up the class dynamic.
Betsy, Skin in the Game was one of two heroes made to support the Sealed and Draft environment. Her and Olympia, Prized Fighter are both built around the Wager mechanic, tempting your opponent to block an attack fully, to deny you the benefit of a token card (in Guardian's case, usually Might, Vigor, or Gold).
Her hero text reads similar to Bravo's however Overpower is a distinctly weaker keyword than Dominate. Further, giving your opponent the opportunity to blow you out by denying you the Wager value, is something that some players may actively avoid.
A lot of the consistency with which Betsy can Wager, other than playing cards like Money Where Ya Mouth Is, is in her specialisation hat Good Time Chapeau. Being able to turn Gold you make with Test of Strength (which we'll talk about a lot more in a moment), into easy Wagers, frees up cards in hand for blocking.
Her other specialisations Bet Big and Drink 'Em Under the Table are alternate forms of effective Wagering.
The Wager Queen has a lot of potential, but while other Guardians exist, she might not get the play she might otherwise deserve.
Victor
The other Guardian Class Hero from Heavy Hitters has seen a great deal more play at his lowest moments, and some consider him to be the strongest Guardian overall.
Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty offers a highly synergistic deck, as his hero ability offers potential consistency despite the variance.
While Betsy is built around the Wager Keyword, Victor cares about the Clash keyword. By revealing cards off the top of the deck and seeing which one has the higher attack power, the winner of that Clash usually receives a benefit in the form of the tokens seen across Heavy Hitters: Vigor, Might, Gold, and even Agility on the Brute themed Clash cards.
Victor's hero ability is set to use Gold to make sure those Clashes always go in his favour. At the same time, he rewards himself by drawing a card whenever he makes a Gold, which always keeps him flush with defensive options, and the Blues he needs to send those big Guardian attacks.
Given this design, Victor includes a great deal of Clash matters cards in his resource base. vic020-clash-of-might-3-victor-heavy-hitters-blitz-deck-precon and vic021-clash-of-vigor-3-victor-heavy-hitters-blitz-deck-precon are easy Blues to block with that give you a chance to Clash. At the same time, cards like hvy079-thunk-3-heavy-hitters-booster and hvy082-wallop-3-heavy-hitters-booster reward you when you win a Clash revealing them, which make them easy Blues to include when building a Victor deck.
Then there are the defensive Block cards which get you the benefit of Clashing. Test of Strength being the one which gives you the definitive reward of a Gold, then drawing a card with Victor's ability. As well as that, Trounce offers the chance to Clash multiple times, giving Victor some immense pay off if he wins both Clashes.
Once you've generated all that Gold, what are you to do with it? His two Specialisations offer you rewards for having Gold on board. The Golden Son makes Gold when you see it in a Clash, and then when it attacks, you can destroy a Gold so that it attacks for 10 Overpower. In Part the Mistveil, he received the Expansion Slot Card: Visit Goldmane Estate. On its base, it's pay 1 to make a Gold, then draw a card. Three or more Gold, which is usually enabled if the Victor player is using Crown of Dominion and Aurum Aegis, then you get a great deal of attack power onto your first attack next turn.
As well as being a particularly strong hero, his place in the community is a source of endless joy and memes. Who even is Victor Goldmane? Is he the horse, or the blonde rider? We've seen his alternate art of the man with an inflatable tube horse, but commentator Elly Bird said during Battle Hardened Minneapolis that that art is "a blonde guy inside an inflatable Victor Goldmane". Is Victor the man or the horse? We'll never know!
What we do know is that many players consider Victor to currently be the strongest deck in the Guardian Class.
Jarl
When Oldhim hit living legend, egregious cards like Oaken Old and Pulse of Isenloft lost a deck to use them in Classic Constructed. When Rosetta released, there were no Guardians or Ice Heroes to be seen, or even Heroes that had access to two elements.
There was a void in Classic Constructed for both Elemental Guardians, and the Ice talent. However the community was always interested in the question: who's the mean looking guy on the art for Mangle?
Jarl Vetreiđi brings that elemental talent back to the Guardian Class. The first Hero ever to be introduced in an Armory deck, he brought a new prestige to the product line, which featured an increased price point, for an increased number of new cards, Majestic Rarity cards, and a new piece of Legendary Equipment in Gauntlets of the Boreal Domain. The Hero and his Armory deck were designed around Mangle. A Guardian that destroys your opponent's equipment and leaves them frozen and stranded on Mount Isen.
As the player base has taken this Hero further, the tempo and defensive style is where most players agree. Playing cards like Ice Quake and Earthlore Surge puts immense attacking power behind your attacks, including Mangle. In order to get the best use of his Hero ability, players usually include Buckle and play cards included in his deck like Frozen to Death. These give -1 Defence counters or destroy Equipment, so that his ability can freeze their exposed slots.
Ice has always been a polarising element to play against. Channel Lake Frigid is somewhat frustrating as it presents the only effect in Flesh and Blood that feels like Prison or Stax in Magic. As such, it takes a certain kind of player to enjoy Jarl and play him well. If you enjoy games being at their grindiest, then the currently only Ice Hero legal is a pick for you.
Valda
Although she doesn't officially release until June 6th, many players who made Top 4 during Pro Quest Singapore have already earned their copies of Valda, Seismic Impact. The newest Guardian Class Hero, who is the one in Mastery Pack Guardian (more about that later in this article).
This version is the Adult version of Valda Brightaxe, the Guardian that sees the most play in the social, casual, Ultimate Pit Format, it'll be interesting to see how well Valda fairs going forward.
Her play style involves you punishing the opponent for drawing cards during their turn. With the advent of High Seas on the horizon, all those Gold tokens flying around, there is a strong likelihood that she will be pretty favourable into them, even with the midrange plan of Gravy Bones, Shipwrecked Looter.
Unlike other Guardians who play Tectonic Plating or Fyendal's Spring Tunic, Valda has a signature chest Equipment. Earthlore Bounty works well with her strategy, as it generates her extra Seismic Surges. Her new Specialisation, Put 'Em In Their Place offers a reroll of your opponent's cards in hand, setting up a potentially immense number of Seismic Surges.
Valda is a new wildcard in the format. Only time will tell if she gains a place in the meta against mainstay Guardians like Victor and Jarl.
Staple Equipment
The main standout Equipment for Guardian is the aforementioned Tectonic Plating. It filters your key Red cards into your deck for the late game, and gives a crucial discount on your Guardian attacks next turn.
The newest Legendary from Heavy Hitters helps mitigate against attacks that would grow in power is Gauntlets of Iron Will.
Then a card that Guardian cards don't really want to run, but run as a necessity, is Civic Steps. Coming from the Round the Table Multiplayer set, being a 2 block with Temper is a very strong defensive option. It offers unique skill expression to the Guardian player to try and block on a turn that would mean the Quicken token is either wasted or inconsequential.
Staple Cards
Due to the high cost of many of their attacks, Guardians play a high number of impactful Blue cards. These cards are fine to pitch early and play late, simply because they all offer a great deal of utility at every stage of the game.
Cards like Cranial Crush offers a niche but effective on hit that punishes some very specific decks, while some like Chokeslam and Debilitate are always annoying against any opponent.
A card that might look like innocuous is actually a deeply important Guardian Class staple. evr029-macho-grande-3-everfest-booster, specifically in Blue has been in every Guardian deck list that I've ever seen. It being a Blue, that despite it's hefty cost of 7, has unconditional Dominate. Having this going back into your deck early, to threaten your opponent with at the end of the game is very effective.
There are fewer cards that inspire more personal tilt than Pummel. Being able to load an attack over the threshold for Crush to be enabled, and forcing a Discard can be such a tempo swing in the Guardian's favour.
Meta Share
After Enigma hit Living Legend, the Guardian Class gained a great deal more presence in the metagame. While Florian, Rotwood Harbinger and any Wizard is a rough matchup for Guardians, they do have a great deal to offer in terms of defensive decks in the new, wider metagame.
Wrap Up
Guardian is a quintessential Class in Flesh and Blood. While their meta relevance has ranged from top tier to irrelevant, they have always been there, and that place in the player base has always been something to keep Guardians on every player's radar.
You can find guides like this on every class in the game, and even more news from the world of Flesh and Blood right here on DotGG Media.
